How Can We Attract Quality Educators to Improve Student Enrollment in Schools?

Dear Friends,

Why don't we focus on providing quality individuals for educational organizations so that we can attract more good students in the future? We should create a database of competent and qualified individuals for the education industry. I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on this matter.

Thanks,
Venkatesan L

Hi Venkat,

Q. "Why not we focus on providing quality people for educational organizations so that we can attract more good students in the future? We should create a database of well-qualified individuals for the education industry."

A: Yes, you are absolutely right. The professors of today do not seem as dedicated or committed as the professors of yesterday. This lack of dedication has a multiplier effect as they are responsible for educating students who may not be well-suited for the industry, especially in the long run. Venkat, these institutions need to prioritize recruiting better personnel. However, you and I might end up feeling like we are talking to a wall. I speak from my own experience, as most organizations, especially in the educational sector, do not seem to take these matters seriously and are more focused on financial aspects. I must admit that I am passionate about creativity in business and innovation, which are often neglected topics in most B-schools. Unfortunately, many B-schools have shown little to no interest in these areas. The reality is that modern organizations pay employees for their ability to innovate and solve problems, skills that are not always emphasized or taught in business schools. Nevertheless, it is worth a try!

Cheerio,
Rajat

Dear Dr. Rajat,

I am very happy about your reply on the subject. I believe we need to start somewhere. I felt that if the forum prepares the blueprint, I am ready to implement it in my college to test the results. 😊

Please contribute to develop.

Regards,
Venkatesan L

Hi Venkat,

By the way, I am not a doctor, so please call me Rajat.

"I am very happy about the reply on the subject. I believe we need to start somewhere. I felt if the forum prepares the blueprint, I am ready to implement it in my college to test the results. Please contribute to developing."

Venkat, I am not sure what you mean by "blueprint." To be honest, what I felt was that there is a dire need for all of us, especially working professionals in different fields, to go back to schools and share our knowledge and expertise. The curriculum and syllabus of subjects need to be reviewed by professionals, or suggestions of new topics/issues facing the industry should be comprehended by institutes for research.

For that, it is essential that we reach out to the right key people in educational institutions to become members of this forum. Alternatively, we could request Siddarth (our Citehr Administrator) to create a separate section here, asking members if they would be interested in sharing their knowledge on a visiting faculty basis and their preferred locations. Maybe this would help us.

I request my colleagues to share their ideas or views.

Cheerio, Rajat

Hi Rajat,

I have just become a member of this link. I really found your articles and contributions excellent. I am a faculty member in OB at one of the prestigious B-schools in Mumbai. Your statement, "professors of today are not as dedicated or committed as yesterday's professors," sounded very untrue. As you know, many of us put our heart and soul into teaching the students. We not only train them with the knowledge required in the corporate world but also mold them with good attitude and soft skills.

Thanks.

Warm regards,
Nitin

Hi,

Let me put an angle to the discussion to look at it from an outside perspective.

Above, we have had a statement "professors of today are not dedicated or committed as yesterday's Professors" and also a response to the same from Nitin.

The angle I was talking about is that of a marriage between 'what' is being taught in B-Schools and 'what' is actually happening in the industry.

Rajat and Nitin are pointing to these two facets.

What we find in the institutions today is probably the mismatch of the above two factors. Is there a channel where 'what is being taught in the institute' (with complete sincerity by the faculty) is being 'influenced' by 'what is happening in the industry'?

Has the faculty spent time in the industry full-time?

Is the faculty having close interaction with the industry on a regular basis?

Is the curriculum or the treatment of the same curriculum being changed in response to industry changes?

How many institutes/faculty are doing the above activities?

What are the channels for the above communication/exchange?

Rajat, your thought process is the direction we should be looking at.

Venkat, I think you could throw some light on the 'blueprint' you have in mind. CiteHR could be a nice platform to evolve and develop the blueprint into an actionable, feasible, and effective plan of action. (Oops, I guess the grammar went for a toss in this last statement 😄)

Hope this forum discussion leads to "something"...

ShoOOonya

Hi Nitin,

Please accept my apologies if my statement has hurt you.

Thanks for the feedback on my postings..

Thanks to shoOOonya who clarified the issue from both perspectives and would like to add further on this matter.

But my emphasis was on the larger perspectives of educational institutes leaving the top and well known institutes which form a minuscule % of the total institutes where the learning by rote is done without much emphasis on how what why & where..

Secondly this statement professors of today are not dedicated or committed as yesterdays Professors was made by Kiran Karnik (President of Nasscomm) in Business world ( 25th October,2004 ) on issue of Managing Talent Management Differently. I use this article and thoughts to share with students on Business Creativity & Innovation workshop. According to Kiran Karnik, he says that people earlier became teachers out of commitment but today the people coming into even the top institutes are not of the same quality. This is a cause for concern.There is no incentive for people to do their masters or doctorate and hence you don't get good faculty. And they are the multipliers who create the students.

Look around other lesser known institutes and colleges, the common refrain among the students would be quality of faculty and generally these institutes have high absenteeism as well. It's a sorry state of affairs!!

Please don't misunderstand me – all I am emphasizing that we need good & passionate professors – I remember attending the classes while I was studying in Fergusson college in Pune, we had excellent faculty of History – which had me hooked and eventually i specialized in that subject ( it's a different story that I had intended to do economics!!). There would be very few professors who can rekindle the passion and make learning – a way of life – this attitude needs to be instilled in today's students.

Look at today's profiles of the students who enter the Industry – there is a mismatch!!

Cheerio

Rajat

Well, as a student currently pursuing BMS, I really think that there is no practical training at all. Most of the material taught is directly from the books. At times, I don't understand the reason for attending college. I could instead stay at home, go online, and gather more information compared to what our professors provide.

I believe that all Business schools and undergraduate colleges for management should have professors from the industry teaching. There should be regular industry visits. If projects are not feasible, then students would appreciate creating projects with complete industry involvement. Subjects that are practical and information that cannot be found online would be challenging and demanding but truly beneficial :)

Regards,
Sunayna

That gives a small idea 💡 Maybe the first step towards 'updating' the professionals about the latest in the industry could be to encourage more and more people (ultimately almost everyone) to get into a regular habit of visiting CiteHR and contribute, as well as resolve their queries too. CiteHR could well become a platform for the interaction which we have been talking about. Till the time a more comprehensive and dedicated platform is developed for this specific purpose, what say, guys...

Hi Hemant,

Absolutely a brilliant idea!! In fact, I am doing my bit by encouraging HR & OB professors in B-schools to join this forum as well.

Hey, where is Nitin? I hope you are reading this, and we expect you to share your thoughts and ideas.

Does anyone have views on this?

Cheerio,
Rajat